I'm looking to break into the IT world (
) and was just curious to see if there were any people on the forums that have gone thru this A+ certification stuff. I just picked up a CompTIA A+ Exam prep book at my bookstore. It's HUGE! Prolly going to take me a few months to get through. Looks fun tho!
Any IT pros?
- Thread starter Donnie373
- Start date
Good Luck. Entry level IT in the US is drying up as most of it is being offshored to India and shortly China.
TXBusa05LE
Registered
+1
Good luck - just keep on studying. Get the Transcender Test Prep - it will help you out. There's a lot of folks with the A+ cert. In fact, many manufacturers require it to become a certified tech.(Donnie373 @ Jul. 28 2007,23:08) I'm looking to break into the IT world () and was just curious to see if there were any people on the forums that have gone thru this A+ certification stuff. I just picked up a CompTIA A+ Exam prep book at my bookstore. It's HUGE! Prolly going to take me a few months to get through. Looks fun tho!
I've been in the IT field for almost 10 years. As I do agree that Entry Level jobs are starting to diminish, they aren't completely gone. It's just the competition in the job market is tough. I've started early and gained alot of experience, so I haven't had that hard of a time getting a job. Just keep in mind, that it's always easier getting a job, when you currently have one.
No doubt it is a tough deal to break into now. I've been doing it full time since 95. I don't have one cert. Had a few classes over the years. I've had about 5 direct employees work for me. More recently I've worked with a group of contractors that take care of some of our stuff. Some of the most papered guys are the worst to work with.
The job market has flipped so much in the last 5-7 years. Certifications are not near as valued as they once were. But a combination of the Certs and experience can help get your foot in the door. The right person can move up in the field once you get placed.
I don't want to discourage you. If you are truely interested, study and get the cert. Avoid the companies that want you to take thier full load cert path to riches.........
The job market has flipped so much in the last 5-7 years. Certifications are not near as valued as they once were. But a combination of the Certs and experience can help get your foot in the door. The right person can move up in the field once you get placed.
I don't want to discourage you. If you are truely interested, study and get the cert. Avoid the companies that want you to take thier full load cert path to riches.........
How much experience do you have with computers? It may help for A+ to have some hardware on hand to take apart and rebuild.
I've been in the IT business for 20 years and I've seen a lot of changes. It's a field where tehnology changes rapidly, and you have to be prepared to relearn everything at regular intervals to stay relevant in the marketplace. I started out on mainframes and transitioned through midrange to the Microsoft and Linux server platforms.
I've been in the IT business for 20 years and I've seen a lot of changes. It's a field where tehnology changes rapidly, and you have to be prepared to relearn everything at regular intervals to stay relevant in the marketplace. I started out on mainframes and transitioned through midrange to the Microsoft and Linux server platforms.
After you get A+ certified, take classes to learn networking. If you can get a job as a pc/network tech, you'll have a chance to learn a skill set that is tougher to send overseas since much of this work has to be onsite. Go for CCNA after you land a job, even if you have to pay for it yourself.
Stick with it and it will pay off in the long run.
Stick with it and it will pay off in the long run.
Rainer3012
Registered
I work in IT but luckily as a Business Analyst, developers will always need someone to go to meetings and translate the customers needs.
I have MCSE and a Master's Degree. Did Systems admin for a number of years and now I am in software engineering...(Donnie373 @ Jul. 28 2007,14:08) I'm looking to break into the IT world () and was just curious to see if there were any people on the forums that have gone thru this A+ certification stuff. I just picked up a CompTIA A+ Exam prep book at my bookstore. It's HUGE! Prolly going to take me a few months to get through. Looks fun tho!
Don't worry about the out sourcing and don't worry about the market "Drying up..."
After the tech crash all those people that got into IT for the money were ousted and now only us passionate people are left...
Bill gates just came out a few months ago and said US is not producing enough IT graduates to fullfill market. Although the market was bad a few years ago, all my colleagues have been getting multiple offers here in Denver with no problem... My bro just got a developer's job out here with a bachelor's degree and no experience... It took him just weeks after graduation to land a damn good job...
I will say this.... To get into the industry anymore, you really need a bachelor's degree. If you have one and its not in the related field, you will stilll be able to find something, but with no degree and basic certifications, you may have some issues...
CLoud
P-Willy
Registered
I got into IT in '01 and to me the hardest part is getting that first job to kick start your resume. If you've been in for 10 years or more you probably didn't have that much trouble getting started. I have a one year certificate from a tech school and work all day with people that have BS degrees and make a very good salary for my area. I got started by working six months at Best Buy in the tech shop (before they outsourced). Then I sent my resume everywhere and was offered a job with a small company (200 emp) that involved everything from desktop and printing support to building and installing servers to supporting Oracle financial software. It made for great experience. After a few years I took a 1 yr Windows telephone support contract postion with Microsoft and did that for a couple of terms and now I have a permanent position with a very successful software company which I like very much.
I said all that to say this-You may have to do whatever comes along to get some experience, any experience and from there work hard be dedicated and don't miss any opportunities that come your way. There are plenty of opps via the contract companies.
I said all that to say this-You may have to do whatever comes along to get some experience, any experience and from there work hard be dedicated and don't miss any opportunities that come your way. There are plenty of opps via the contract companies.
I fell in backwards when I entered the IT field 10 years ago...my boss is the IT director for the county where I worked and he essentially needed a "pit bull" of a personality to cope with a difficult elected official during a huge system/data migration...he asked me twice to take on the job before I made the plunge...no certifications, just learning what I can as I go. I've been able to take Microsoft classes all along the way, but never been ambitious enough to go for certification on anything...it's a small-town gov't job, my business card says I'm a database administrator, I've learned tons , I stay busy and I've been happy (mostly) for 10 years now...
BTW, that elected official resigned after I took over...I won
Good luck with what you're doing...learning more can never hurt you, but the market is flooded...
BTW, that elected official resigned after I took over...I won
Good luck with what you're doing...learning more can never hurt you, but the market is flooded...
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